This is a short clip from Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” which never ceases to inspire and engage the mind and soul with its thoughtful narration and invigorating visuals that take the viewer through the complex voyage of a soldier to war hidden by the beauty of “paradise“. . .

It really must have been something to find yourself in a strange new world, another Earth far away from the hometown you left months before. You might never want to leave. You might hope to be left on a deserted island for the rest of your days; left alone by the complications of society.

Malick does a great job at creating this world, and you can get an even cooler glimpse into this world by digging into the world of vintage vernacular.

Ask your grandparents and they probably have vintage snapshots to share with you, or dig through the bins of them at your local Flea Market or antique store. There are treasures to find. These memories of some lost paradise always seem to be like faded remnants of some beautiful black and white dream. . .

Here’s a few to quench your thirst! Soak it up, and bring this lost paradise with you wherever you go.

Why should I be afraid to die? I belong to you. If I go first, I’ll wait for you there. On the other side of the dark waters.
Be with me now.

In the wake of the tragedy that struck us early Sunday morning in Orlando, we were inspired to post this very moving {MUSIC MINUTE} in honour of those lost, hurt, and affected by this unspeakable crime.

To imagine that in 2016, we are still dealing with repression, bigotry, and hate to such a violent extreme saddens us beyond belief. It truly goes to show how important it is for us to keep being invigorated and reminded of OUR {PAST} in the {PRESENT} to help shape the {FUTURE}.

The nightmares and horrors of yesterday, are the nightmares and horrors of today, and the more we keep ignoring them, the worse our world will become.

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Many of you know that we just finished a successful sold out run of the musical HAIR at Hamilton Theatre Inc. and what truly drew us to this show was its message of friendship, freedom, peace, and love; and through being a part of this iconic show, we truly feel that it is our duty to continue spreading the groovy revolution.

Before she was crooning “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” and “Love Lifts Us Up (Where We Belong)” in the 1980s (winning Grammys and Academy Awards along the way), she starred as Sheila Franklin in the West Coast cast of HAIR.

Here is her soaring rendition of one of our favourite songs whose message is ultimately timeless and true especially after the unforgivable terror that was imposed on a vibrant and loving community.

Poor little hysterical witch! In the middle ages you were in conflict with the church. Now it is with the law.

Title Card: “Häxan (1922)”

We really ought to be saving this one for our own private inspiration board, but a higher wisdom has urged us to share. We swear!

This sinisterly beautiful Style {WISE} is from the archives of cinema history. Back to the days of the silent film, where the power of imagery ruled supreme.

The film is the 1922 Pseudo Documentary Art-House Horror Silent Classic, Häxan (pronounced “hek-sen”). Imaginations soared through creative interpretations of alleged real-life events right up through to the early twentieth century. The Swedish Film was directed, written, and starring Benjamin Christensen as the Devil himself.

Ultimately comparing the hysteria of contemporary (1921) women with the behaviour of the witches in the Middle Ages; the film concludes that they are very similar. Hey, we never said a peep! {click here for more}

Title Card: Centuries have passed and the Almighty of medieval times no longer sits in his tenth sphere.

Title Card: We no longer sit in church staring terrified at the frescoes of the devils.

Title Card: The witch no longer flies away on her broom over the rooftops.

Title Card: But isn’t superstition still rampant among us?

Title Card: Is there an obvious difference between the sorceress and her customer then and now?

Title Card: We no longer burn our old and poor. But do they not often suffer bitterly?

Title Card: And the little woman, whom we call hysterical, alone and unhappy, isn’t she still a riddle for us?

Title Card: Nowadays we detain the unhappy in a mental institution or – if she is wealthy – in a modern clinic.

Title Card: And then we will console ourselves with the notion that the mildly temperate shower of the clinic has replaced the barbaric methods of medieval times.

What’s most fascinating is the way they amp up the already iconic images we have in our mind when we turn our thoughts to the idea of witchcraft, the frenzy of the medieval times, and the rugged decay of the Medieval Times. All these elements are intensified and, almost glamourized, for the silver screen in a way only the 1920s could make happen.

Wouldn’t it be great to see more powerful imagery like this come to the forefront today, while still staying beautiful ? Perhaps some of you beauties will find some inspiration to take with you after your visit here with The Eye of Faith.

Häxan: Witchcraft through the ages, is a true experience for the eyes and ears, with music beautifully composed by Emil Reesen.

Seemingly a silent horror sensation, but truly a documentation of modern man.

So much faith is thrown into the blind eyes of God, as fellow man takes judgement and punishment upon himself.

You may have noticed those immortal words when browsing through our ABOUT US page, although the phrase is more like this:

+ CONCISIONEM STYLO, ACCURATIUS CORDE, IUDICARI VITA +

Since our inception, these words have helped build the foundations for creating The Eye of Faith, and we never forgot them along the way.

Wise words from an icon in his own right, Victor Hugo (and I’m not too sure if he would be one for musicals ) . . . but none the less, his “concision in style, precision in thought, and decision in life”, have made him and his work relevant to this very day!

It’s quite wild how the past comes and goes, and is brought back to life again. Inspiration finds it’s way through the cracks of your mind to infiltrate your thoughts and create something special. This comes into play every time you make your way into your own wardrobe, for example. You stare at your clothes and an idea might come to your mind, and thus a new look, and a new you is born!

While our motto CONCISIONEM STYLO, ACCURATIUS CORDE, IUDICARI VITA (it just sounds so F***ing good in Latin) has carried us far the past year, most mysterious 2014, we have a few new thoughts for the year ahead, and some new virtues we want to inherit and inspire for 2015.

+KNOWLEDGE+

+KNOWLEDGE+ has always been an important piece of the puzzle here at The Eye, and for our frequent followers and visitors, you have come to expect in our approach an appreciation for history and all it’s secrets and quirks. We love to expose the {PAST} and examine where it fits into the {PRESENT} and hopefully, using our age defying wisdom, we can summarize a likely {FUTURE}.

Much like the alchemists and sorcerers of the past, the gaining and collecting of knowledge, every little bit no matter how esoteric, is a vital aspect of one’s true power, for when the time comes and all you are left to is you and you alone, you can count on yourself to follow through! Whether we’re talking life or fashion, no one is ever going to blame you for knowing too much.

We hope to continue in this vein, and bring you more and more vintage memories and musings that can both inspire and inform.

+INTEGRITY+

Since we began creating The Eye of Faith, we have been told a million and one things we should be doing instead. Everyone and their mother has had an opinion on our vision, without even asking what that vision may be!

We came into this game knowing full well who we were, and what we intended to accomplish. You don’t see another site quite like The Eye of Faith online, and that is a good thing. We are not trying to fall into place behind other fashion blogs (most of which look the same) who recycle content from site to site, but we wanted to be true innovators on the scene. This dedication to our vision, and always standing by it without changing it to appease naysayers is why we have ruled +INTEGRITY+ as a continuing priority here at The Eye of Faith.

The Eye of Faith was conceived as a portal to the past with many seemingly disparate items, articles, and stories coming together to create a well-rounded vision of how little things have changed, and how cool the past really was! This will continue NOT to change.

We will also not be picking any random articles of vintage clothing to add to the collection. Nothing is arbitrary, and each piece speaks to a certain story or style we are aiming to incorporate into the vision of the collection as a whole. Believe us, it’s not as easy as it sounds! It’s called +INTEGRITY+

+COURAGE+

The Spirit of Contemplation (1901) by Albert Toft {1862 – 1949}

+COURAGE+ has always been our silent leader when it came to creating The Eye of Faith. In fact, the whole idea of the The Eye of Faith encapsulates this virtue entirely.

The Eye of Faith is an age old symbol of +COURAGE+, and by the pure belief in matters at hand, and some proper insight, one may be given sight to see the way to get to one’s destiny. It’s a silent pathway, but a strong one, and without proper reinforcement your trail could just wither into the wind before your eyes and you would be left to find your way without the guidance of the fates. . .

The latter is a path many of choose in life, but since we are beings with a choice, we definitely chose to trust that The Eye of Faith will get us where we belong.

It took a lot of +COURAGE+ to stand up and tell those we know and love our belief in it, but it definitely seems to be paying off, with everyday us getting stronger and stronger.

+STRENGTH+

+STRENGTH+ comes in many forms. We need it constantly; in the physical sense, to keep up the hustle of getting our pieces from one place to another, and even more so in the emotional and spiritual sense, when it seems like you’ll never figure it all out.

Truth is, you’re never going to figure it all out, so best stop wasting your energy on that one . . .

Having +STRENGTH+ of mind is more powerful than any fist when it comes to life. Creeping deep down into oneself and building +STRENGTH+ from within is your best start. From there, everything else will seem like a cinch!

+IMAGINATION+

I once read somewhere that +IMAGINATION+ is more important than +KNOWLEDGE+

But I don’t think that is quite true, as much as learning to utilize both to one’s advantage can be the most powerful tool of all.

+IMAGINATION+ is quite literally the God-Sense in all of us. If you seek the divine in the everyday all you need do is open a pad of paper and sketch, or write for an hour about any old thing, even messing about your wardrobe will suffice. It is simply that beautiful magical moment where your brain has decided to create something new, and completely you.

You are a well of ideas and inspirations, and once you are able to tap into that spring, you might find your true self overflowing!

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So there you have it!

Our five newly anointed principles that can be used not just for your style sensibilities, but use them in life, as well. If you use them right, the transformations will happen almost immediately.

Feel free to adapt our Rules to fit your own life, or simply come up with a few of your own.

What means most to you? In the end, that’s all that matters. We know what we need to do to survive, and we’re going to definitely be making it happen! So hopefully some of our words of wisdom have rubbed off a bit, and we can all make things happen together!

“STRANGER THAN PARADISE . . . “

by The Eye of Faith

On a journey through the mystery of the most beautiful place on Earth.

Taking us to a world both wild and exotic, this series was inspired by the faded 1940s dreams and memories of life on the high seas in the South Pacific. It is the tale of society’s soldiers taken hostage by the wild. In many ways, it is a true Paradise Lost lived . . .

In a place where the air is hot and its perfume sweet it is hard not to be intoxicated by your surroundings –

Check it! The Eye of Faith is becoming more and more of an art gallery, and we love it!

We are finding so many unique and intriguing vintage images everyday, and we love the many people who see the beauty in these remarkable snapshots of the past. They are indeed, frozen moments lost in the time . . .

We are so fascinated by the stories contained within each of them, but most of the time we will just never know. Take for instance one of our favourite “moments” of our collection of vintage vernacular . . . The Breathtaking Vintage 1960s Beehive Bad-Ass Beauty! That’s right.

Quite the impressive hive she’s got there. She is a beautiful idol to natural beauty, and the mystery photographer definitely appreciated his subject as so. An original photograph from the 1960s, this image transcends past any insecurity of the “not knowing”-ness of it all, and lives to be a timeless image suitable for anyone of discerning tastes, and an eye for something special.

Tell your friends, and help spread the word! And don’t be shy to want her all to yourself, because you can buy her now on Etsy!

Vintage vernacular (snapshots) is an authentic and affordable way to collect contemporary art, which is why we are such big fans. We know there are like-minded people out there, and if that’s you, you can check out the {SHOP} for more cool vintage photographs for sale <<click here>>.

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

The Eye of Faith {Vintage} is a brand dedicated to integrating time traveled wisdom from the {past} with the {present} to help shape the {future}. It is an age old symbol of believing in oneself, and having faith in your dreams. No longer must we be lost. We are a burgeoning society dedicated to an alternative to the purchase of affordable fashion forward apparel, accessories, and home decor. We also provide design services and consultation, as well as costume and styling. At our core, we are a source of inspiration and musing.
Please enjoy your time here.
If you have any questions, please email the.eye.of.faith@gmail.com